Building MOTs another burden on home owners

The Local Government and Regeneration Committee yesterday took evidence on the possible introduction of building MOTs.

Scottish Conservative Local Government spokesperson, Margaret Mitchell MSP said:

"No one could argue against the benefits of preventative spending to help stop housing deteriorating and to prevent any defects and building problems from becoming more costly to the home owner. Especially if in extreme cases failure to carry out repairs could present a potential hazard to owners and members of the public.

"However, I believe the building MOTs system which is mooted as a voluntary one could in fact become compulsory if insurance companies insisted on a building MOT being produced before insurance is granted or as part of on-going insurance cover.

"Local authorities already have the power to serve a work notice requiring work to be carried out on a property that fails to meet the tolerable standard or that is in serious disrepair. They also have the power to serve maintenance orders to prevent houses falling into disrepair in the first place and owners can be required to produce a maintenance plan.

"Quite simply the introduction of compulsory building MOTs either directly or by default would place yet another burden on home owners. They already have to bear the expense of Home Reports, the introduction of which has failed to abolish multiple surveys and have instead, in some instances, resulted in more surveys being commissioned and negatively impacted on the housing market."

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